Malzahn says Stidham will be 'turned loose to do everything' in summer

Auburn fans can rest easy knowing they won't have to go much longer without their starting quarterback.

Following offseason surgery in January to repair a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder, Jarrett Stidham was limited throughout the spring and aside from a brief 7-on-7 session, didn't participate in the annual A-Day game.

"When we come back, he'll be turned loose to do everything," Malzahn said Wednesday before his first stop on the Ambush tour in Montgomery. "I know he's really looking forward to that. He could've done a little bit more the last week of spring, we just didn't want to take any chances. We wanted to be cautious with him, but he'll be back ready to go when we come back."

The team returns later this month for the start of the summer semester and Malzahn couldn't be happier to have his starting signal caller back to help hold his teammates accountable on the field this summer.

"You got to have your leaders in the summer," Malzahn said. "He's one of our team leaders. For him to be able to do everything, I think is very big. The coaches can only be with them two hours a week with football-related things. The rest of the time it's your leaders.

"The fact that he's got a year under his belt, he's one of our team leaders, and to be ready in the summer, I think that's going to be really big for us."